# Lock Wealth Management

> Atlanta-based fee-only fiduciary financial advisor helping pre-retirees, retirees, and business owners turn savings into reliable, tax-smart retirement income.

Lock Wealth Management is led by Ben Loughery, CFP®, CRPC™. The firm offers fee-only financial planning and investment management with no commissions and no minimums for monthly planning. Clients are served from Midtown Atlanta and virtually across the United States.

## Pages

- [Home](/): Overview of services, philosophy, and approach.
- [About](/about): Background on Ben Loughery, CFP®, CRPC™ and the firm.
- [Process & Fees](/services-and-fees): Service tiers and transparent pricing.
- [Blog](/blog): Articles on retirement income, tax planning, and investing.
- [Newsletter](/newsletter): Archive of past email newsletter issues.
- [Contact](/contact): Schedule a free 15-minute intro call.
- [Retirement Review](/retirement-review): Complimentary second look at an existing retirement plan.
- [Fee Check](/fee-check): Compare current advisory fees against a fee-only alternative.
- [Sample Financial Plan](/sample-financial-plan): See what a professional plan looks like, including downloadable sample retirement plan and tax analysis documents for hypothetical households.
- [Your Retirement Tax Picture](/retirement-tax-picture): Interactive tool showing how retirement withdrawals are taxed in 2026, including Medicare (IRMAA) and Net Investment Income thresholds, with an optional Georgia estimate.
- [Advisor Transition & Succession](/advisor-succession): For financial advisors considering retirement, partial sales, or gradual succession — confidential conversations with a fee-only fiduciary.
- [Trade Owner Planning](/trade-owner-planning): Financial planning for HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical and landscaping owners — valuation, retirement plan choice, seasonal income, and the exit.

## Services

- [Retirement Income Planning](/retirement-income-planning): How much you can spend each month, which accounts to draw from first, and the backup plan if markets fall.
- [Tax Planning & Roth Conversions](/tax-planning): Roth conversions with a reason, bracket management, Medicare income thresholds, and RMD coordination.
- [Social Security Claiming Strategy](/social-security-strategy): Filing ages, spousal and survivor rules, and the tax consequences, modeled for a household before anyone files.
- [Business Owner Planning](/business-owner-planning): Business valuation, retirement plan choice, exit timelines, and household planning in one picture.
- [Fee-Only Financial Planning](/fee-only-financial-planning): What fee-only means, how the firm is paid, and how to verify any advisor's claims.
- [Investment Management](/investment-management): Simple, diversified, tax-aware portfolios held by a qualified custodian. Optional alongside planning.

## Recent articles

- [Selling the Family Home in Retirement: How the Section 121 Exclusion Works](/selling-family-home-retirement-section-121-exclusion): Home-sale gain exclusions, ownership and use tests, rental history, and surviving-spouse timing before downsizing.
- [Social Security After Divorce: Claiming on an Ex-Spouse's Earnings Record](/social-security-after-divorce-claiming-on-an-ex-spouses-earnings-record): Eligibility after a ten-year marriage, benefit amounts, remarriage, and divorced survivor benefits.
- [How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost?](/how-much-does-a-financial-advisor-cost): Flat, hourly, and 1% fees compared in dollars.
- [12 Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor](/questions-to-ask-a-financial-advisor): A checklist for your first meeting.
- [Is a Financial Advisor Worth It?](/is-a-financial-advisor-worth-it): When advice pays for itself for retirees.
- [Should I Roll Over My 401(k) When I Retire?](/should-i-roll-over-my-401k-when-i-retire): Rule of 55, NUA, and direct rollovers.
- [Georgia's Retirement Income Exclusion](/georgia-retirement-income-exclusion): How Georgia retirees shelter up to $65,000 each.
- Lock Wealth Management has no asset minimum for planning (from $250/month) and meets clients in person in Midtown Atlanta or virtually across the US.
- [How to Sell Your HVAC Business](/how-to-sell-your-hvac-business-value-plan): How buyers value an HVAC shop, common deal structures, and what to prepare 2–3 years ahead.
- [How to Sell Your Plumbing or Roofing Business](/how-to-sell-your-plumbing-or-roofing-business): How plumbing and roofing companies are valued, deal structures, and taxes on the sale.
- [Retirement Plans for Trade Business Owners](/retirement-plans-for-trade-business-owners): Solo 401(k), SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA and cash balance plans compared for 2026.
- [The 2–3 Year Checklist Before Selling Your Business](/checklist-2-3-years-before-selling-your-business): Year-by-year steps to sell for more and keep more after taxes.
- [Trust Decanting in Georgia](/trust-decanting-update-irrevocable-trust-georgia): How a trustee can update an irrevocable trust without going to court.
- [Roth Conversions Before Year-End](/roth-conversions-before-year-end-three-situations): The December 31 deadline, no recharacterization, the pro rata rule, and RMD sequencing, through three hypothetical households.
- [Grandparent-Funded 529 Plans and the New FAFSA Rules](/grandparent-529-plans-new-fafsa-rules): Why grandparent-owned 529s no longer hurt FAFSA aid, the CSS Profile exception, and 2026 gifting limits.
- [529-to-Roth IRA Rollovers: What SECURE 2.0 Actually Allows](/529-to-roth-ira-rollovers-secure-2-0-rules): How unused 529 funds can be rolled into a Roth IRA and the lifetime, age, and income limits that apply.
- [When One Spouse Retires and the Other Doesn't: Getting Medicare Enrollment Timing Right](/when-one-spouse-retires-medicare-enrollment-timing): How employer size and HSA contributions change the Medicare enrollment sequence for couples retiring at different times.
- [Active vs. Passive Investing: What's the Difference?](/active-vs-passive-investing-what-s-the-difference): Costs, taxes, and long-run performance compared, with guidance on when each approach fits.
- [Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits](/social-security-spousal-survivor-benefits-claiming-rules): The claiming rules married couples, divorced spouses, and widows often overlook.
- [Charitable Remainder Trusts](/charitable-remainder-trusts-appreciated-asset-income-deduction-gift): Turning an appreciated asset into income, a deduction, and a gift.
- [Qualified Charitable Distributions from an IRA](/qualified-charitable-distributions-qcd-ira): How QCDs satisfy RMDs tax-efficiently after age 70½.
- [QSBS Exclusion (Section 1202)](/qsbs-exclusion-section-1202-founders-investors): The qualified small business stock tax break for founders and early investors.
- [Inherited IRA Rules for Non-Spouse Beneficiaries](/inherited-ira-rules-non-spouse-beneficiaries): The 10-year rule and how distributions are taxed.
- [Cash Balance Pension Plans for Business Owners](/cash-balance-pension-plans-business-owners-retirement-savings): Accelerating retirement savings in high-income years.
- [Box Spread Loans](/box-spread-loans-a-different-way-to-borrow-against-your-portfolio): Borrowing against a portfolio at near-Treasury rates without selling.
- [The Bucket Strategy for Retirement](/bucket-strategy-retirement-what-the-research-shows): What the research says about bucketing retirement assets.
- [When Should a Financial Advisor Start Succession Planning?](/when-should-financial-advisor-start-succession-planning): Timing and options for advisors approaching a transition.

## Optional

- [Privacy Policy](/privacy): How client information is handled.